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November 23, 2007
Computer Scientist Gene H. Golub, Dead at 75
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Nov. 20 -- Gene H. Golub, a professor emeritus who helped found the Stanford Computer Science Department in the 1960s, died Nov. 16, at Stanford Hospital, a few days after being diagnosed with leukemia. He was 75.
Golub was known as a pioneer in the field of numerical analysis, creating algorithms and software that allowed researchers to run engineering and science calculations on computers. A large, outgoing man, he had a reputation for generosity to his students and colleagues at Stanford and around the world. A frequent scientific traveler, he was returning home from Hong Kong when he fell ill.
Earlier this year, Golub was nominated for the Turing Award, often described as the Nobel Prize of computing. The nomination cited, among other accomplishments, his contributions to matrix computations, a subject with profound importance for solving complex problems such as predicting the weather, studying the stability of structures, and finding oil deposits.
"Our community has lost its foremost member," said Cleve Moler, another recognized leader in numerical analysis and the founder of MathWorks, a company that produces software for technical computing and design.
Golub was born in Chicago in 1932, the son of parents who immigrated from Latvia and the Ukraine. His intellectual blossoming began in high school. "My brother had an interest in almost everything," Al Golub said from his home in Chicago.
After earning three mathematics degrees from the University of Illinois (bachelors, masters and PhD) and working a couple of brief jobs, Golub arrived at Stanford as a visiting assistant professor in the computer science "division" in 1962. Thus began a relationship that lasted until his death 45 years later.
"How fortunate he was to have found a niche he was suited for. He found Stanford, or Stanford found him," said Al Golub. "Very few of us can say, Gee, this is what I was born to do, like this is the only girl I've ever loved."
In 1964, Golub created an algorithm for computing what's known as the singular value decomposition, or SVD. The algorithm is used in a variety of applications, including search engines, signal processing and data analysis. It is sometimes called the "Swiss Army knife" of numerical computation for its versatility.
"We'll always remember him as "Professor SVD," said Professor Michael Saunders, a Golub graduate student and later colleague and friend. Saunders listed numerical analysis terms that always will be associated with Golub: the QR method for least squares; SVD; generalized CG; separable least squares; total least squares; moments and quadrature.
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